Magazine interceptor latch



United States Patent Office 3,201,886 Patented Aug. 24, 1965 MAGAZINE INTERCEPTOR LATCH Robert P. Kelly and Wayne E. Leek, Ilion, James S. Martin, Mohawk, Charles H. Morse and Richard E. Nightingale, Herkimer, and John A. Roberts, Utiea, N.Y., assignors to Remington Arms Company, Inc.,

Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 333,878 8 Claims. (Cl. 42-17) The present invention relates to improvements in repeating firearms and in particular to a shell latch and stop associated with a tubular magazine.

Proper feeding of shells is a significant problem in pump action or autoloading firearms. The present invention is especially useful with autoloading guns having a tubular magazine beneath and essentially parallel to the barrel. Cartridges are fed from the magazine of such a gun to a carrier latch in the receiver which in turn is actuated by bolt reciprocation to feed the cartridge to the proper position to be intercepted by the returning bolt and loaded into the chamber.

The cartridges are fed at the present time by means of a heavy magazine spring or a latch that retains the cartridge at the rear of the magazine tube and is released so that feeding takes place at the proper time. The use of a heavy magazine spring has been found unsatisfactory. The inertia force on the cartridge due to firing has displaced the cartridge against the spring so that proper feeding cannot take place and a malfunction occurs. The great speed with which action of the gun is operated necessitates extremely rapid transfer of the cartridge from the magazine to the carrier. Anything which slightly delays this transfer results in a malfunction.

To eliminate these problems various mechanisms have been devised to prevent inertial movement of the rear most cartridge in a magazine tube. These devices have been arranged so that they are actuated by the recoil of the gun to intercept the cartridge and retain it in proper feeding position. While these devices have performed satisfactorily, they sometimes cause malfunction by allowing more than one cartridge to be fed during one cycling of the gun action.

Additional mechanisms have been required to prevent the feeding of more than one cartridge at a time. This has greatly complicated the gun, introducing additional areas where malfunctions can occur and have added to the cost.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide mechanism for controlling the inertia effect on cartridges in a tubular magazine and at the same time prevent the feeding of more than one cartridge at a time from the magazine.

Another object of this invention is to provide mechanism which will eliminate forward movement of the rear most cartridge in a tubular magazine due to recoil and also prevents more than one cartridge from being fed at a time.

A further object of this invention is to provide a combination interceptor and inertia latch for a tubular magazine to prevent feeding malfunctions.

It is contemplated that these objectives may best be achieved by providing a combination inertia and interceptor latch operated by the firing of the firearm which will detent the rear most reciprocable element in the magazine tube subject to inertia forces and prevent its forward displacement during recoil while also intercepting the next reciprocable element and prevent its feeding to the carrier during the cycling of the fire arm action.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention to be disclosed are equally applicable to repeating firearms of all types having a tubular magazine coextensive with a barrel wherein the action of the firearm may be operated while the firearm is in recoil. The so-called slide action or foreend operated rifles and shotguns, and certain lever action rifles and shotguns are of this type, and will benefit equally with autoloading shotguns and rifles by the employment of this invention.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of a firearm incorporating this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section view on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of a firearm showing the invention in operated position; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section view on line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

The repeating firearm herein chosen for illustration and description of this invention is a shotgun of the autoloading type disclosed in the copending application of Robert P. Kelly et al., filed the same date as this application.

Referring to the drawings the illustrated shotgun comprises a receiver 1 on which is secured a barrel 2 having a barrel chamber 3. Below the barrel and coextensive therewith is a magazine tube 4 mounted in receiver 1 and having one end 5 in open communication with the receiver. Placed within the magazine tube and bearing against a forward abutment not shown is spring 6 which resiliently bias a reciprocable shell follower 7 toward opening 5.

Cartridges or shells 8 are loaded into magazine 4 through opening 5 and are transferred to chamber 3 by being forced out of the magazine tube onto a carrier not shown and then to the chamber. In the shotgun shown the magazine has a capacity of five shotshells. Without the present invention a very strong magazine spring would be required to prevent inertial movement of the shells during recoil. A spring strong enough to accomplish this would force more than one shell out of the magazine during function of the action and would make loading the magazine impossible except for very strong individuals.

A latch member 9 operated by means of the hammer plunger 10 is pivotally mounted on stud 11 which projects from the bottom left side wall of receiver 1. Latch 9 is retained on stud 11 by means C-ring 12 and is biased in the position shown in FIG. 1 by means of spring 13.

The feed position of latch 9 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As can be seen spring 13 bias the rear of latch 9 upwardly so the catch member 14 of latch 9 is depressed downwardly out of contact with shell rim 15. In this position shells can be fed from magazine 4 to chamber 3 when the firearm action is operated. Latch 9 remains in this position after bolt 16 has returned to battery position as shown and is operated to its latching and intercepting position just prior to firing.

When the trigger, not shown, is pulled to fire the gun hammer 17 is released and forced upward to strike the firing pin 18 by plunger 10 and plunger spring 20. Hammer 17 is pivotally mounted on pin 21 and the disconnector 22 is also pivotally mounted on pin 21. A member 23 extends upwardly and rearwardly of disconnector 22 so as to be engaged by plunger 10 when hammer 17 is being driven to contact firing pin 18. Just prior to hammer 17 contacting firing pin 18, disconnector 22 is pivoted so as to depress the rear of latch 9 bringing catch 14 into the latching and intercepting position as shown in FIGS.

3 and 4. In'this position catch 14 engages rim 15 of the rearward most shell 8 preventing it from being displaced forwardly by inertia forces during recoil. After firing this shell will be properly positioned to be fed to chamber 3 and catch 14 will intercept the rim of the next shell retaining it in magazine 4 until the action is functioned once again.

After firing bolt 16 is retracted from the battery position and the rearwardmost shell is fed from magazine 4. As bolt 16 retracts it cams hammer 17 downward and this motion of the hammer returns plunger to the position shown in FIG. 1. Hammer 17 is retained downward by the sear, not shown, until the trigger is once again pulled. This action allows spring 13 to return latch 9 and disconnector 22 to the position shown in FIG. 1 ready to operate as described during the next functioning of the action.

This device may beused advantageously in any tubular magazine firearm having an action operable while the firearm is in recoil.

What is claimed is:

1. A firearm having a receiver, a barrel extending from said receiver, a magazine tube coextensive with said barrel and communicating with said receiver, a plurality of cartridges reciprocably positioned in said magazine, the invention comprising means for restraining one cartridge from forward inertial displacement during firearm recoil and to prevent more than one cartridge from entering said receiver during one cycle of the firearm, said means comprising a latch member pivotally mounted in said receiver, said latch member being pivotally movable to engage the rear most cartridge in said magazine upon firing of said firearm and to intercept the next cartridge during cycling of said firearm.

2. A firearm according to claim 1, comprising spring means normally biasing said latch member to an inoperative position.

3. A'fireann according to claim 1, comprising means to pivot said latch member to an operative position prior to the firing of saidfirearm.

4. A firearm according to claim 1, in which said means is a disconnector mounted in said receiver to cam said latch member to the operative position.

5. In a firearm having a receiver, a barrel extending from said receiver, a magazine tube coextensive with said barrel and communicating with said receiver, a plurality of cartridges in said magazine, spring means in said magazine urging said cartridges toward said receiver, the invention comprising means to restrain the cartridge adjacent said receiver from inertial displacement during recoil of said firearm and to intercept the next cartridge during cycling of said firearm, said means comprising a latch pivotally mounted in said receiver adjacent said magazine, spring means normally biasing said latch to an inoperative position, a hammer, hammer plunger and disconnector mounted in said receiver, said plunger forcing said disconnector to cam said latch to the operative position prior to firing.

6. In a firearm having a receiver, a barrel extending from said receiver, a magazine tube extending from said receiver in parallelism with said barrel and communicat ing with said receiver, at least one cartridge in said magazine, spring means in said magazine urging said cartridge toward said receiver, the invention comprising means to restrain said cartridge from inertial displacement away from said receiver during recoil of said firearm, said means comprising a latch pivotally mounted in said re ceiver for movement between an operative and an in operative position, said latch being pivoted to said operative position prior to the firing of said firearm.

7. A firearm according to claim 6, comprising spring means normally biasing said latch to an inoperative position.

8. In a firearm having a receiver, a barrel extending from said receiver, a magazine tube extending from said receiver in parallelism with said barrel and communicating with said receiver, at least one cartridge in said magazine, spring means in said magazine urging said cartridge toward said receiver, the invention comprising means to restrain said cartridge from inertial displacement during recoil of said firearm, said means comprising a latch pivotally mounted in said receiver for movement between an operative and an inoperative position, a hammer, hammer plunger and disconnector mounted in said receiver, said plunger engaging said disconnector and causing said disconnector to cam said latch member to the operative position prior to firing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 472,377 4/92 Mallen 42-21 2,765,557 10/56 Roper 42l7- BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. FRED c. MATTERN, 1a., Examiner. 

1. A FIREARM HAVING A RECEIVER, A BARREL EXTENDING FROM SAID RECEIVER, A MAGAZINE TUBE COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID BARREL AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID RECEIVER, A PLURALITY OF CARTRIDGES RECIPROCABLY POSITIONED IN SAID MAGAZINE, THE INVENTION COMPRISING MEANS FOR RESTRAINING ONE CARTRIDGE FROM FORWARD INERTIAL DISPLACEMENT DUREING FIREARM RECOIL AND TO PREVENT MORE THAN ONE CARTRIDGE FORM ENTERING SAID RECEIVER DUREING ONE CYCLE OF THE FIREARM, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A LTACH MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN SAID RECEIVER, SAID LATCH MEMBER BEING PIVOTALLY MOVABLE TO ENGAGE THE REAR MOST CARTRIDGE IN SAID MAGAZINE UPON FIRING OF SAID FIREARM AND TO INTERCEPT THE NEXT CARTRIDGE DURING CYCLING OF SAID FIREARM. 